Pornography remains a controversial issue. Previous experiments have confirmed the impact that the stimulation of the pleasure center causes in the brain through the excess of explicit sexual contents. Now, several studies go deeper into this topic: what exactly does it do in our brain?

The high consumption of pornography can alter the structure and functioning of our brain causing addiction or addictive behavior to arise. Both having sex and watching them leads to the release in the brain of a substance called dopamine (a brain neurotransmitter related to motor functions, emotions and feelings of pleasure).

The difference with regard to practicing sex is that porn produces a kind of "flood" of dopamine. The excessive discharge of this hormone can produce cardiovascular, renal, stomach or endocrine disorders, among others. But also, when this discharge occurs, the body needs to re-produce them again, so they promote the repetition of this behavior and can lead to a vicious circle that leads the individual to lose the ability to govern their own body.

The brain, meanwhile, reduces its activity in the reward centers. The more pornography you see, the less activity, according to a study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry. This causes the brain to need more dopamine to feel the same effect. It offers us a compelling reason to see more pornography again.

"Brains respond to chemical change. When dopamine is released and there is a sense of pleasure, the primitive brain sends the message of repeating the behavior of the desired sensation, "explains Joe Schrank, specialist in addictions.

Thus the mind of a person with dependence on pornography is presented with a constant need to feel a strong stimulation. That is why the brain of a high consumer of explicit sexual content is compared with that of a person with alcohol dependence or a drug dependent person. Without going any further, a study published in the journal PloS One and carried out by the University of Cambridge (England) revealed that the striatum or striatum - which plays an important role in the reward center of the brain - was also illuminated when it was about people with alcohol dependence as well as pornography when showing them images of their object of desire.

The scientists discovered that three specific regions of the brain were much more active in people addicted to these sexual contents: the striatum, the anterior cingulate cortex (executive control, emotional control) and the amygdala (sentinel of emotions). In addition, seeing too much pornography also modifies the size of our brain. In another study carried out by the Max Planck Institute (Germany) in 2014, the researchers discovered that the volume of the striatum of the brain decreased the more they saw pornography.

"We found an important negative link between the act of viewing pornography several hours a week and the volume of gray matter in the right lobe of the brain, as well as the activity of the prefrontal cortex," explained the authors of the study.

In a world that is increasingly accelerated, with long working hours, intense traffic, growing urbanization and prolonged sedentary lifestyle, health is put a little aside. Thus, not only exercise is forgotten, but even basic issues such as walking or drinking water are played down.

Digitization and gadgets have had a controversial existence, receiving accusations of reducing social dynamics or chaining the user to a screen, but we must not forget its positive side. Since digitalization, electronic devices have been developed that seek to combat major urban problems, such as stress, sedentary lifestyle, poor diet and lack of sleep.

According to WHO, physical inactivity is a global public health problem. Among its statistics we find that at least 60% of the world's population does not perform the physical activity necessary to obtain health benefits. In addition to the prevention of diseases such as cardiovascular diseases or diabetes, physical movement helps combat the disease, one of the main ailments of today; Last year the WHO revealed that work stress causes 25% of heart attacks.

Do not confuse lack of exercise with physical inactivity. The latter is defined as having made less than 150 minutes accumulated in the week of moderate or vigorous physical activity. Also, sedentary lifestyle is considered when more than 28 hours per week are spent sitting, and more than 20% of the population is in This status.

Improving the quality of life is the goal of this type of gadgets, such as those developed by Fitbit. Faced with health problems that spread across the globe, the Californian brand developed portable technology focused on health and the fitness industry. This one opened its doors in 2007 and it was with a fast growth, since in the period between 2010 and 2015 the profits of Fitbit increased of 5 million dollars more than 1,800 million dollars (Statista). For 2014, 14 million devices were sold and in 2016 almost 40 million were sold. This shows that gadgets created to improve health is one of the most promising segments in the technology industry.

How does it work?

There are several types, from basic physical activity bracelets to smartwatches. But one of the most complete, without falling into the smart watch, is the Fitbit Alta HR. It is a thin bracelet that also has a watch on its digital screen. This is communicated through an application with the Smartphone in order to have more accurate statistics and achieve the objectives with greater efficiency.

When using the bracelet during the day it measures the steps, the heart rate, the distance traveled in kilometers, the calories burned and the time of physical exercise. In the application, the objectives are defined, for example, 8,000 steps per day, which is recommended to get out of a sedentary lifestyle, and in this way the device calculates the necessary steps per hour to reach the goal. With this, every so often it measures how many steps are missing and vibrates gently to invite the user to take a short walk or to complete a certain number of steps. This type of silent notification allows people to be more aware of their level of activity and motivates them to make a small effort.

Heart rate monitoring is very useful to achieve goals of increasing physical condition and calculate calorie burn both at rest and during an activity. This is very efficient when carrying out a weight loss plan. To complement, in the application there is a section in which you can manually enter what foods are consumed and count the calories consumed. Likewise, there is another section to record the number of glasses of water that are drunk and to become aware of the importance of consuming this vital liquid.

Sleep monitoring is one of its new functions. To measure it, it is necessary to sleep with the device on the wrist so that it can perceive the duration and constancy of sleep. In addition, thanks to the fact that it measures the heart rate, it manages to record the time spent in each of the sleep phases and then graphs them in the App, from which it is possible to compare with the phases of the standard sleep according to gender and age. This not only measures the sleeping time, but also the quality of it. As an additional help, from the phone you define the time in which you want to go to bed so that a vibration notifies you that it is time to rest and when it is time you wake up in the same way.

Something that is important is that this type of devices do not force you to follow a certain pre-established pattern of health, but are created to customize habits according to the type of life and personal goals. Although it has suggestions, such as the number of recommended steps, for example, everything goes according to an organic and comfortable improvement for the user. At the end of the day it is up to everyone to improve their quality of life and this type of gadgets make their lives easier.

Tell us how you use Facebook and we will tell you how old you are, or at least, we can make an estimate, thanks to a new study published by researchers at the University of North Dakota.

Older adults are attracted to Facebook to see photos and updates from family and friends, but tend to resist using this social network because they are concerned about who can see its content, according to new research.

"The biggest concern of seniors is privacy and not to reveal too much, but because they believe that there are too many people out there who could use your information at will," says the co-director of Penn's Media Research Lab State, S. Shyam Sundar. "Privacy has to do with the degree of control you feel you have about how your information is shared or distributed."

The researchers interviewed 46 participants who were between 65 and 95 years old. The group included 17 male participants and 29 female participants, all of them with a university degree. All claimed to use a computer daily.

The participants argued to keep in touch, to be aware of the updates of their contacts and to share photos as main reasons to use Facebook. However, the older adults in the study mentioned privacy, as well as the triviality of some posts, as reasons why they stayed away from the site.

According to this, Facebook would need to implement clearer privacy control tools to promote its use in older adults. What indicates, on the other hand, that young people are increasingly concerned about their privacy and, in general, do not consider it a factor to take into account when using a social network.

However, this does not mean that older adults do not enjoy the Facebook experience. While senior users are concerned about who is looking at their publications, at the same time they enjoy using the site to look at photos and read messages from friends and family, according to the researchers.

The study revealed that young people post more; instead, older people prefer to watch what their contacts do.

"I have not posted anything in years, I do not need to say: 'I'm eating!' I do not understand that type of communication", said one participant to the researchers.

The researchers, who report their findings in the journal Telematics and Informatics, warned Facebook developers that they should focus on setting up privacy to take advantage of the market for older people.

The researchers suggest that Facebook is helping to serve as a communication bridge between generations and that young people are encouraging older family members to join the site. In particular, unlike young people, most older adults were encouraged by younger family members to join Facebook so they can communicate.

Maintaining older users could be a significant resource to help drive the growth of Facebook and other social networks.

The Polish company Deep Ocean Technology completes the design of a spectacular semi-aquatic leisure and tourism center called Hotel Water Discus. It is a complex composed of different circular structures connected by a central cylinder, some located several meters above the water and another anchored on the seabed.

In the submerged zone, which would lie about 10 meters deep, there would be room for 21 double rooms equipped with large windows. In this way, the residents would have from them a unique view of the marine flora and fauna. In addition, the resort would have its own heliport, a hangar for tourist submersibles, spa, etc ..